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What’s the Deal with Powdered Peanut Butter?

The original peanut butter needs no introduction, but this not-so-distant relative has been gaining major popularity. Is powdered peanut butter for you?

What is Powdered Peanut Butter?
Most powders are made from a combination of peanuts, salt and a hint of added sugar. Popular peanut butter brands include PB2, Just Great Stuff and Dowd & Rogers.

A large portion of the natural oils in the peanuts are removed, yielding a powdered product that is 80 to 90 percent lower in fat and calories than regular peanut butter. A 2 tablespoon portion contains 45 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 5 grams of protein (that’s about one-third the protein content of regular peanut butter).

Instead of being spread, the powder needs to be sprinkled dry or mixed with water to create a paste. It definitely tastes like peanuts, with a lighter and less exciting flavor. The paste lacks peanut butter’s distinctive creaminess, but that’s to be expected from something so much lower in fat.

As for the price, hold on to your wallet. Powdered varieties sell for about $8.00 to $9.00 per jar, or about $1.25 per ounce. Regular peanut butter sells for a fraction of the cost, at …read more